Choreographer of the year: Sergio Trujillo?

[BroadwayNorth2]

Posted: 12/28/09 at 12:51pm

They're not all dance-intensive (or completely new choreographies) but 6 shows in 1 year has got to be approaching a modern-day record!

Guys and Dolls (Broadway)
Next to Normal (Broadway)
West Side Story (Stratford)
Jersey Boys (Melbourne)
Memphis (Broadway)
Addams Family (pre-Broadway)

http://www.thestar.com/entertainment/theatre/article/742472--lord-of-the-dance

[PalJoey]

Posted: 12/28/09 at 1:25pm

I am more and more in awe of his versatility. His dancing in the bigger shows like Jersey Boys is both exuberant and also very specific to the world of the music.

But the small amount of musical staging in Next to Normal elevates the emotionality of the music and is virtually unobtrusive. That restraint is genius.

I WISH I had seen his West Side at the Stratford Festival. I hear that his version of Robbins is vastly better than the second-rate mash we get in the current revival.

I also admire him for doing things like Guys and Dolls and Addams Family. Jerome Robbins worked on (and doctored) many troubled shows and flops. That's how he schooled himself.

I recently decided that I look forward to anything Trujillo does from here on. If Stratford were to revive or move the West Side, I would fly to see it.

[Burgundy]

Posted: 12/28/09 at 2:39pm

The best part of his WSS choreo was how he adapted it for the thrust stage. Really amazing work.

[BroadwayNorth2]

Posted: 12/28/09 at 4:21pm

"But the small amount of musical staging in Next to Normal elevates the emotionality of the music and is virtually unobtrusive."

For someone who hasn't seen N2N (but who has seen Trujillo's most recent Canadian work - Stratford's West Side Story and Toronto's Jersey Boys), can someone give me a little more of a description of N2N's choreography/movement?

[timote316]

Posted: 12/28/09 at 4:32pm

Not from this season, but his work on the ALL SHOOK UP national tour a few seasons ago was top notch. He really transformed that show to what I'd consider a "dance show".

[winston89]

Posted: 12/28/09 at 5:07pm

I saw Memphis on Saturday and I was in awe of his work on that show. I sometimes feel that everything that this man touches is gold. He has shown us is versatility with his work. From the choreography on a smaller set like Next To Normal or Playwright Horizon's Saved. Or on a larger grander scale such as Memphis.

I do hope that this man get a Tony someday if he hasn't already.

[ray-andallthatjazz86]

Posted: 12/28/09 at 5:42pm

I don't remember a lot of the NEXT TO NORMAL musical staging (I wouldn't call it "choreography" since it isn't really dancing as much as seamless movement). I say PalJoey put it best, it's simply unobtrusive.
The scenes I remember the most in terms of staging are the "My Psychopharmacologist and I" sequence and the "You Don't Know/I Am the One" scene. In the former, Trujillo cleverly uses the set by having the characters act like a Greek chorus above while the action with Diana and the doctor happens on the bottom of the set. It works really well, especially the way he groups the chorus together. The "You Don't Know" sequence is probably my favorite moment in the show and I think it's one of the best moments in terms of choreography. You can see it at the Tonys. There's a brilliant moment where he has Diana almost dance, but almost move regularly, I don't know how to explain it, but it works beautifully. She almost engages in a dance with her husband during the "you say you hurt like me" section of the song, but it's never fully realized. It works so well. I also really enjoy the fast-paced opening sequence.
I thought his job in GUYS & DOLLS worked but really there was little he could do when he was working with a terrible star (Lauren Graham). The Hot Box numbers never soared and the chorus dancers stole the spotlight from Adelaide. The Havana Sequence was fun, but it was hard to get invested in the show so late into the travesty. I did love his staging for "Sit Down You're Rockin' the Boat," but again, and I'm quoting/paraphrasing PalJoey quoting Arthur Laurents "you could have Sadam Husseim and his sons perform the number and it'll still stop the show."

[BigRed]

Posted: 12/28/09 at 5:46pm

His work in the Addams Family is great too. There's not a ton of dancing but a lot of amazing ensemble choreography in some of the bigger numbers.

[BroadwayNorth2]

Posted: 12/28/09 at 5:51pm

He did nab the Tony for his choreography in Jersey Boys!

[bjh2114]

Posted: 12/28/09 at 5:53pm

"He did nab the Tony for his choreography in Jersey Boys!"

Incorrect. Kathleen Marshall won for Pajama Game that year.

[BroadwayNorth2]

Posted: 12/28/09 at 5:55pm

Of course!! What was I thinkin'?!

[bjh2114]

Posted: 12/28/09 at 5:57pm

In fact, he wasn't even nominated. Rob Ashford for Wedding Singer, Donald Byrd for Color Purple, and Casey Nicholaw for Drowsy Chaperone were the other nominees.

EDIT TO ADD: In fact, he's never been nominated for a Tony EVER. Jersey Boys got him his only award nomination ever, and that was a Drama Desk nomination. Updated On: 12/28/09 at 05:57 PM

[BroadwayNorth2]

Posted: 12/28/09 at 6:04pm

"SERGIO TRUJILLO Broadway: Jersey Boys (2006 Tony Award, 2009 Olivier Award):

Slightly misleading, no?!

http://www.playbill.com/celebritybuzz/whoswho/biography/15903.html

[bjh2114]

Posted: 12/28/09 at 6:14pm

Not so much misleading as just wrong, lol. Playbill is such a fail.

EDIT TO ADD: He didn't win the Oliver either, though he WAS nominated for that one. Updated On: 12/28/09 at 06:14 PM

[wickedfan]

Posted: 12/28/09 at 6:25pm

The problem with his Guys and Dolls choreography was that the small stage with the giant sets and the large cast created a near impossible area for Trujillo to work in. He DID do a very good job with the Crapshooter's Ballet. Also, in regards to the Hot Box numbers, there was the stupid decision of giving Adelaide a microphone, which she almost NEVER went away from (I'm choosing to believe that was MacNuff's decision). His choreography for Jersey Boys is so clean and precise, I was always very impressed with it. I'm excited to see what he does in the future.

[BroadwayNorth2]

Posted: 12/28/09 at 6:43pm

In April 2010, he might very well have 4 choreographed shows all running on Broadway simultaneously! When's the last time that happened?

http://newcitystage.com/2009/12/01/broadway-boundless-addams-family-choreographer-sergio-trujillo-gives-new-meaning-to-multitasking/

[mywonderwa11]

Posted: 12/28/09 at 7:03pm

While I loved his choreography in the Guys & Dolls revival I did feel like the show was a little over choreographed.

[Link Larkin Wanabe]

Posted: 12/28/09 at 7:39pm

West Side Story at Stratford was superb, but I don't know how well a transfer of any sort would translate. The use of the thrust stage was really a huge a part of the magic, and how everyone dealt with that.

Akiva

[RentBoy86]

Posted: 12/28/09 at 9:14pm

I find his work to be serviceable, but it's never reached the "wow" factor of say Robbins, or even Jones' for Spring Awakening. I mean he's not bad by any means, but nothing really stands out in my mind. Even Mitchell for Hairspray is sort of the style that every production now has to live up to.

[bjh2114]

Posted: 12/28/09 at 11:19pm

I find his work to be serviceable, but it's never reached the "wow" factor of say... Jones' for Spring Awakening.

Don't even talk to me.

[PalJoey]

Posted: 12/29/09 at 12:13am

I loved the use of movement in Jersey Boys. I'm surprised he wasn't nominated.

Ray--the unobtrusive musical staging I was thinking of in Next to Normal is how he has her move with the psychopharmacologist when she fantasizes him as a "scary rock star."

[perfectlymarvelous]

Posted: 12/29/09 at 12:26am

I actually loved his work for Guys and Dolls, particularly the fantastic Crapshooters' Ballet.

Also...the "choreography" for Spring Awakening? Seriously? It worked in the context of the show, absolutely, but Bill T. Jones should NEVER have won the Tony.

[Wayman_Wong]

Posted: 12/29/09 at 1:41am

I was first wowed by Sergio Trujillo's work in 'All Shook Up,' and he should've gotten his first Tony nomination for that. However, I think he'll finally get one this season for his fancy footwork in 'Memphis'; it's got some of the most energetic and dynamic choreography around (especially in 'Everybody Wants to Be Black on a Saturday Night,' 'Radio' and 'Tear Down the House'). Kudos, too, to the knockout dancers, like Danny Tidwell and Cary Tedder.

But this season's Tony for choreography is gonna be competitive. I could see the four nominees being Twyla Tharp (assuming 'Come Fly With Me' comes in); Bill T. Jones ('Fela!'); Trujillo ('Memphis'), and Jason Gilkison ('Burn the Floor').



Toronto Star: Lord of the Dance - Sergio Trujillo Updated On: 12/29/09 at 01:41 AM

[averagebwaynut]

Posted: 12/29/09 at 1:50am

Kudos to Tidwell for his dancing. Not, from the scuttlebutt I've heard (read: chorus kids chatting a bit too loudly at a theatre district bar), for his backstage behavior and/or onstage discipline.

Indeed, if I'm not mistaken, I heard just yesterday that he's been asked to leave the show (read: fired) with Equity's consent? Can anyone verify?

[mywonderwa11]

Posted: 12/29/09 at 1:55am

RentBoy - Really? Spring Awakening? Bill T. Jones' choreography was ridiculous and he did not deserve the Tony at all. I think Matthew Bourne and Stephen Mear should have won for Mary Poppins.

I'm questioning your taste